A Shot In The Dark
by InsideOutlaw
Summary: Heyes is being secretive and the Kid is getting nervous


"I don't like this, Heyes," groused an uneasy Kid Curry as his horse snorted nervously. The trail the two partners had been riding for the past few hours had become noticeably narrower as it threaded its way into a dense forest of young, autumnal aspens sparsely shaded by tall, old growth blue spruces. The tightly clustered trees made it hard to see any distance and the rapidly setting sun made the shadows grow deeper by the minute. A light wind rustled leaves, sweeping up a woodsy fragrance and masking all other sounds. It was taking all of the Kid's concentration to stay on the path when he should've been watching their surroundings. He was disoriented and he was irritated. "Slick's gettin' antsy, too." He stroked his gelding's neck. "Something's out there and I can't see past the end of my damn nose."

A deer broke from cover and dashed across the trail a few yards in front of the riders causing both horses to spook and try to spin on their heels. "Easy!" said Heyes as he pulled up his dark bay. "It's a doe, you idiot, not a grizzly."

"You best not be talkin' to me," growled the Kid. His own horse was jigging underneath him, its mouth compulsively worrying the bit. "What're we doin' out here anyways? We ought to be holed up in the hotel at Abbotsville by now, not traipsin' around the woods in the middle of nowhere."

"I told you. There's something I've gotta take care of," snapped Heyes.

The Kid stopped his horse and looked back at his friend. "That's all you told me! You think you could elaborate on that a tad?"

"You'll know soon enough, we're almost there," said Heyes as he neared his partner.

"You said that an hour ago!"

"And it's still true." The dark-haired ex-outlaw rode by without looking at Curry.

"Heyes!"

A soft glow lit the trunks of the trees long before the Kid saw the large, weather-beaten shack concealed in the forest. Someone had arrived before them and a plume of smoke arose from a crumbling chimney but there were no horses tethered in the vicinity and no signs of movement within the shack. "Who's here?" he whispered to his partner who was already swinging out of his saddle.

Heyes turned away from the Kid. "You'll see." He said as he strode towards the cabin.

Thoroughly annoyed, Curry dismounted and hurried after him, his hand resting on his Colt—just in case. Reaching out he seized Heyes' arm and swung him around to a halt. "That's not good enough. Shh!"

"What?" Heyes tried to pull his arm free, but his partner doggedly held onto it.

A thump from inside the cabin caused the Kid's hand to clench even tighter. "What's that noise?"

"I didn't hear anything. Let go of me."

"You need to tell me who's inside that shack." The Kid's jaw jutted stubbornly and his eyes held a glacial threat.

Frowning, Heyes glared back. "I don't know who's in there but there's one way to find out. I'm going in."

"No, you ain't, not until I check it out. You're the one who's always sayin' we can't be too careful!"

Heyes tore his arm away. "When did you get to be such an old biddy?" He started for the cabin again.

"Heyes…" growled Curry. Infuriated by his partner's recklessness, the Kid drew his Colt. If there was someone in the cabin he knew how to bring them out. He fired a shot in the dark sky.

Heyes spun around in shock before dropping to the ground and screaming, "GET DOWN!"

Reflexively, the Kid dove to the dirt as gunshots erupted from the cabin drilling into tree trunks over his head. Masculine yelling and feminine screams added to the chaos. He lifted his Colt to return fire, but was stunned to see Heyes waving his arms and yelling, "Stop! Stop! It's us. Dammit, Wheat, hold your fire!"

"Wheat?" mumbled a confused Kid Curry.

The door opened a crack and a familiar mustached face appeared. "Heyes, that you? What the hell…you said it was gonna be a surprise. You didn't say nothin' about us gettin' shot at."

The door swung wider and Kyle Murtry's grinning visage peeked around the jamb. "Hoo wee! I was sure surprised!" A moment later, Lobo and Hank stepped out next to Wheat and the Kid could see Preacher hovering in the background as Heyes dusted the soil from his trousers. An unfamiliar woman wearing a feathered boa tucked herself under Lobo's arm, smiling tentatively. "Y'all gonna introduce us to your friends?" Other girlish voices tittered from within the cabin.

"Howdy, boys," said the Kid, holstering his gun as he rose to his feet. "What's goin' on here?"

"Surprise!" yelled Kyle, waving his hands until the others joined in and added their voices. "Happy Birthday, Kid!"

Heyes stood with his hands on his hip, consternation written across his face. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Heyes, it ain't my birthday. Is it?" asked Curry, sheepishly. "Guess I lost track of the days."

"Yeah, you did." Heyes was shaking his head. "And, 'cause it's your 30th, I figured I'd do something special."

"Heyes got word to Wheat to round us up, get us some lady friends, and meet you here," said Hank, proudly.

"We ain't seen you two in a coon's age," chuckled Kyle. "We's got lots of catchin' up to do."

The Kid threw his arm across Heyes' shoulders and gave him a squeezing hug. "You got the old gang together! Now, I get why we're in the middle of nowhere. Lom would skin us alive if he knew we were fraternizin' with these old reprobates."

"I probably should, but I let Heyes' silvery tongue overrule over my good sense," said a deep voice from behind the Kid. "Glad to see no one's bleeding. Sounded like a war when I rode up."

"Lom!"

"Happy birthday, Kid," said Lom, holding up a bottle of premium whiskey. He passed the bottle to the blond ex-outlaw as he walked by before trotting up the steps and following Wheat and Kyle indoors.

"Quit jawin' and come on in, you two. Stew's gettin' cold and the ladies are gettin' warm," laughed Lobo as the rest of the gang re-entered the shack.

The Kid turned to his partner. "Heyes, I'm sorry…"

"For what? For watching my back through thick and thin? For being the best damn friend and partner a man could ask for? You've got nothing to be sorry about, Kid. Happy Birthday." Heyes gave him a bear hug before clapping him on the back. "Now, can I go in? Tonight we're gonna forget about amnesty and the last three years of eating trail dust and we're gonna tie one on for old time's sake."

"That…sounds perfect!" grinned the Kid.

Together, they walked through the doorway and swung the door shut behind them as cheers erupted.


End file.
